Free Republic

What advice would you give to a retired Air Force Colonel that has three graduate degrees and that cannot even find work as a janitor? 59-year-old Robert Freniere once served as a special assistant to General Stanley McChrystal, and he has spent extensive time in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But now this man who once had an office in the heart of the Pentagon cannot find anyone who will hire him. In addition to his story, in this article you will also hear about several other middle-aged professionals that cannot find work in this economy either. Despite what the...

Quentin De Nio, a 94 year old WW II veteran, still carries his white U.S. Army flag to honor soldiers buried at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, according to a news report.

<p>Republican senators were making a last-ditch bid to undo cuts to military retiree benefits in the House-passed budget deal ahead of a crucial vote Tuesday morning in the Senate.</p> <p>Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions filed an amendment late Monday to restore money that was cut from veteran and military retiree pension benefits by closing a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to qualify for child tax credits.</p>

In Phoenix, more than 200 veteran inmates have been told they will be moving to a segregated wing of the Maricopa County Jail. During a press conference today, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio formally announced his plan to house approximately 250 veteran inmates together, in a housing unit that dons “patriotic décor” and features special behavioral programming aimed at dealing with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD continues to plague military veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan – and for incarcerated veterans, coping with the disorder without the help of friends or family can be even...

He may be 85 years old, but when Army sniper veteran (Battle of the Bulge) Ted Gundy was given the chance to show off the skills he used in World War Two, he proved he still could....(video 5min.)

Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La., right, of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, covers an injured U.S. soldier as a helicopter lands to evacuate the wounded after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. Apr 2009.AP photo by David Goldman

GREENVILLE, SC — The last surviving member of the crew that rescued John F. Kennedy from an island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II died Wednesday. Greenville native Jack Gardo was 87. He died in his sleep at his home on Farrs Bridge Road, his daughter-in-law Brenda Gardo said. Gardo enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 16, two years younger than the legal age, because he wanted to serve his country. In 1943, Gardo’s PT 157 was sent to rescue the survivors of PT 109, which was cut in half by a Japanese ship. The crew...

HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Veterans are rallying around a local bar whose owners say they have been ordered to removed a sign that salutes their service. “Thank a veteran for your freedom!” says a large sign perched above Johnny’s Booze and Pool. Vets love it and make up a significant part of the establishment’s clientele. “I love this place. The sign gives me the pride back that I lost … I struggled a lot when I first came back,” an Army vet told CBS2′s Stacey Butler. But someone complained to the city about the sign, and now the bar’s owners...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A 69-year-old west Columbus man said he defended himself, his partner and his home from robbers. The attempted robbery occurred at a home on Cascade Court in Columbus at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Vietnam veteran said a female neighbor came to his home Wednesday afternoon, and behind her were four men, two of whom were armed with guns. "(They said,) 'We want your money. We're robbing you.' And then all of a sudden they start hitting my partner," he said. The victim said that one of the men demanded cash. His partner was able to escape...

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Newman was traveling with a group out of Beijing on a tour bus through North Korea. On Oct. 26, what was to be Newman's last day in North Korea, he was taken off of a plane set to leave the country and detained by authorities. The United States Department of State refused to confirm the detention, but said the U.S. has updated its travel warning for North Korea, recommending against all travel.

The crew of the USS Dewey have honored the dying wish of a Pearl Harbor survivor by allowing him on board the latest version of the destroyer he served on in the Second World War. Electrician’s Mate Second Bud Cloud was due to begin hospice care, when his friend Jennie Haskamp reached out to the Dewey's crew and asked if he could see the ship in San Diego. But when they arrived at the dock, the sailors carried the 90-year-old veteran on board and attentively listened as he shared his memories from the war.

Veterans Day will be bit different for Richard Overton. The man believed to be the nation's oldest living veteran spends most days smoking cigars and enjoying his whiskey. But today? He's spending Veterans Day with President Obama. Overton, 107, enjoys up to 12 cigars a day and likes to enjoy his morning coffee with a little whiskey, a beverage he credits in part with his long, healthy life. The Austin, Texas, resident still drives, walks without a cane and regularly attends church. He said he was taken aback when he got the invitation to the White House.

It came through an online message board from a village in eastern France. Attached was a photo of a standard-issue U.S. Army duffel bag, and the name on it in faded block letters was unmistakable: WILLIAM A. KADAR. "I can't believe this," Arleen Haas, 33, recalled thinking as she looked at the photo again and again. Kadar, her grandfather, had fought in eastern France during World War II, winning a Purple Heart and enduring a string of POW camps in the closing months of the war. Haas has spent much of her life collecting and preserving memories for her grandfather,...

Floyd "Pete" Petiprin has lived through the Pearl Harbor attack, a broken hip and the loss of his wife Emily, but the Winter Park man greets each day with an upbeat outlook. "If you have a positive attitude and say your prayers every day, you can recover from almost anything," Petiprin said. "Psychologically, it is very important to be as happy as possible." /SNIP/ Petiprin joined the U.S. Navy when he was a business administration student at the University of Michigan because "we knew we'd be drafted." He was an officer for 10 years before losing friends in the Pearl...

A veteran in Plano, Texas, had his American flag outside his front door destroyed for the third time on Friday morning. And he’s sick of it. Larry Lorance told CBS DFW that he installed a surveillance camera and successfully captured the violators on video — three punks roaming at night with nothing better to do. It’s not just about the damage to his property, it’s about respect, he said. “A lot of men and women gave their lives for this flag,” the veteran said sternly. “As an American, and as a veteran, I was offended by that.” “Not only did...

WASHINGTON, DC — A group of elderly veterans have stormed past the barricades of the World War II memorial and have taken a number of park rangers as Prisoners of War, sources confirmed. The attack, now in its second day, included more than four busloads of veterans visiting from Mississippi on an “Honor Flight.” Group leader Elmer Lee told reporters he had called for reinforcements. On Tuesday, after the initial assault into the site, Lee’s forces captured a number of park rangers, who they are still holding at cane-point. Sources confirmed that weeks prior to the attack, the park rangers...

Neighbors block new home for injured double-Bronze Star Afghanistan veteran because 'it won't look right' next to their properties He may have served two tours in Afghanistan protecting the freedom of his nation, but double-Bronze Star veteran David Wood has returned home only to battle ungrateful NIMBYS. Gifted a charitable home through the efforts of his local congressman, Aaron Schock, for his wartime efforts, Wood, who has lost the hearing in one ear was told that the property plans for his family's house were opposed by his potential neighbors. Indeed, an unidentified cabal of neighbors in the Peoria suburb of...

A former U.S. Army sergeant who fought in Iraq is suing the state of Michigan for denying his request to have a vanity license plate that says “infidel.” Michael Matwyuk in his lawsuit says he meant no offense by the license plate, saying he was only “reappropriating” a word used by insurgents to describe American soldiers. He said in the lawsuit that he and his fellow veterans “proudly refer to themselves as ‘infidels’ as a reminder of the bond they share as survivors of a bloody war in a hostile part of the world.”

At almost 4 months of age, little Brooks Dillard has spent more than half his short life in the hospital. For the last 8 weeks (as of 8/16/13), he has been at Seattle Children's Hospital. He has been on a ventilator the entire time, has had two major surgeries with another one in his near future. Brooks was born with a very rare congenital heart defect called Double Aortic Arch. Normally, the aorta leaves the heart and branches off to supply the arteries going to the arms and head. One of these branches then turns down to supply the lower...

Bad idea: holding up a store clerk who happens to be proficient in firearms. Worse idea: holding up a store clerk who is not only proficient in firearms, but who also happens to be an Iraq war veteran and a former prison guard and private investigator. Jon Lewis Alexander, 54, is no ordinary store clerk. He has worked several “high risk” jobs and served four tours of duty in Iraq during his 30 years in the U.S. military. And his training shows. Video surveillance from Saturday night captures the moment a would-be thief entered the Marionville, Mo., store where Alexander...